Looking to buy an extended warranty for my 2006 330i - with a two-year extension I would be out of warranty in October 2011. Is the new 3 series expected to be released by that time or will it be released in 2012 as a 2012 model year?

In my humble opinion, never, ever, ever buy first year's of a new generation car. two, three years later, owners always get the shaft. this goes with ANY manufacturer.

I believe the 3rd year are usually the sweet spots.

I don't really agree, cause I bought my 99 328i (first new model yr) and that car was the tightest, best car I ever owned, I had very very few problems. It's a given that the first model yr you will have some things but it's not enough to stop my decision buying, I've lived through proof that 1st model yr can be a excellent buying experience.

But isn't it nice to have a car brand new from March of '05, get nice use out of it, then buy the new one as soon as it comes out? Cars aren't like new software, or computers, etc. I know I was one of the first people in the U.S. to buy the Range Rover Sport, and it's still in style, except for the minor facelift that just came out. I'm good 'till 2014 with it! Good feeling.

In my humble opinion, never, ever, ever buy first year's of a new generation car. two, three years later, owners always get the shaft. this goes with ANY manufacturer.

I believe the 3rd year are usually the sweet spots.

Until recently, I honestly believed this to be a myth. However, I bought a Acura TSX in its first year. I made the purchase because of Acura's vaunted reliability rep. Big mistake. Sold the damn thing after about five years and multiple problems with virtually every system in the car (except the engine). The thing that support what you are saying is that most of the problems were common among TSX owners in the first few years,and then subsequently corrected by Acura.

Always wait until the third year if you can, IMO. And, for the E90, it might even be worth waiting until the fourth year because there were so many changes in cabin electronics with year 3.

Regardless of what I personally believe, the hard data are support of what Nukezero is saying. First year of production is always the least reliable year.

I think reliability wise, E90 330i's and 325i's have been fine. Feature wise, 06 owners just missed out on programmable iDrive buttons, 6FL iPod/USB, RTTI for the nav, and "free" BMW Assist for 4 years.

I've only had mine for a few months, but the service history is clean. It's just annoying that I don't have those features I listed above, which IMO are pretty significant.

I think reliability wise, E90 330i's and 325i's have been fine. Feature wise, 06 owners just missed out on programmable iDrive buttons, 6FL iPod/USB, RTTI for the nav, and "free" BMW Assist for 4 years.

I've only had mine for a few months, but the service history is clean. It's just annoying that I don't have those features I listed above, which IMO are pretty significant.

I am into a first-year release purchase cycle -- E46 in 1999, E90 335 in 09/06, first week of production. No problems with either car. I prefer to have the latest design rather than a tried and tested version. I hope to get the Z2 supersport as soon as it is released and drive it over as much of Europe as I have time and $ for.

I am into a first-year release purchase cycle -- E46 in 1999, E90 335 in 09/06, first week of production. No problems with either car. I prefer to have the latest design rather than a tried and tested version. I hope to get the Z2 supersport as soon as it is released and drive it over as much of Europe as I have time and $ for.

Agreed with this. BMWs don't generally have problems first year. With the exception of the HPFP issue (which is ongoing obviously), they seem to nail things the first time around. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a 2006 330i or early 2007 335i, nor will I hesitate when F30 comes around.

In my humble opinion, never, ever, ever buy first year's of a new generation car. two, three years later, owners always get the shaft. this goes with ANY manufacturer.

I believe the 3rd year are usually the sweet spots.

That's the folklore; however, many of us have had different experiences. I bought one of the first E39s delivered to my dealer in June 96 (97 model) and drove it for over 166K with almost no issues. True, it needed a clutch and new cats when I sold it and bought my E90, but it was about as bullet proof as you can get. Many others have similar stories. I think the "never buy a first year car" was much more true 20 years ago, but not so accurate any more.

In my humble opinion, never, ever, ever buy first year's of a new generation car. two, three years later, owners always get the shaft. this goes with ANY manufacturer.

I believe the 3rd year are usually the sweet spots.

I had an April 05 production E90, one of the first batches, had it for 4.5 years -- not a single issue, except the RFTs... THe one "disappointment" was that they did some changes already to the September 05 production...

As someone's already posted, the BMW does the 7-year cycles. The E90 cycle started in 2006 in the USA, 2005 in Europe, therefore, Europe will probably get it 6 months ahead of us, in 2011, we will get is as a 2013 model early 2012...